Paul Dano basked in a glimmer of sun after enduring a harsh critique from director Quentin Tarantino, who labeled him "the weakest f--king actor in SAG." Nearly two months later, the actor graced the Sundance Film Festival to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Little Miss Sunshine alongside his costar Toni Collette. When asked about the director's scathing remarks, the duo shared their thoughts.
"Are we really going there?" Toni exclaimed to Variety on January 28th. "F--k that guy! He must've been high... it was just confusing. Who does that?" Paul echoed her sentiment, grateful for the outpouring of support from his Hollywood peers.
"That was really nice," Paul, 41, said. "I was incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me, so I didn't have to face it alone."
Indeed, after Quentin referred to Paul's performance in the 2007 movie There Will Be Blood as a "giant flaw" and "weak sauce" on the December 2nd episode of The Bret Easton Ellis podcast, according to Deadline, celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller came to his defense.
"Paul Dano is an incredibly gifted, versatile actor," the Legally Blonde actress, who starred alongside Paul in Paul Thomas Anderson's 2014 film Inherent Vice, wrote on Threads on December 6th. "More importantly, he is a gentleman."
Meanwhile, Ben—who directed the 2018 series Escape at Dannemora starring Paul, Benicio Del Toro, and Patricia Arquette—kept it short and sweet, writing on X on December 4th, "Paul Dano is f--ing brilliant."
Earlier this month, George Clooney also seemingly addressed Quentin's comments by emphasizing his love of actors while accepting the Best Actor trophy at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards on January 10th.
"By the way, Paul Dano and Owen Wilson and Matthew Lillard," the Jay Kelly actor said. "I would be honored to work with those actors. Honored." George also called for greater compassion from Hollywood, adding, "We're living in a time of cruelty; we don't need to be adding to it."
